Eat Out to Help Out.

My own feeling is that it was a mistake to turn the old Colleges of Higher Education and Polytechnics into universities. I know why it was done. The idea was to give vocational education parity of esteem with universities.

I reject absolutely that Oxbridge degrees are necessarily superior to a degree from anywhere else, but there is no doubt that they are still seen as prestigious. (Look at our cabinet ministers!) It really depends what skills are required. For example, I wouldn't trust an Oxford classicist to understand the details of the sea and tides, knowledge of which is needed to run a surf school. I wouldn't recommend Oxbridge to an aspiring engineer or doctor either.

The Colleges of Education and polytechnics often offered a very valuable route for mid-career people, who wanted/needed a more theoretical grounding to progress. The UK suffered for far too long from amateur time-servers, who thought they knew it all.

The UK really needs to look at a country such as Germany, where advanced vocational education has arguably been one of the main reason's for the country's industrial success.

growstuff there are lots of examples on the Internet if you care to look.

Grandad1943

1Whitewavemark2, I accept there is much still to be said for obtaining University degrees that will bring good well paid career employment on completion.

However, if the necessary qualifications can be obtained to secure such employment in any industry without gaining all the debt that is so associated with university placements these days, then that is perhaps a better way to proceed?

I would prefer that no debt was incurred.

I really believe that the country is better off with a highly educated workforce.

However, I do think that if a person is not academically inclined then the choice should be much much wider than is currently the case.

I think Germany stands as a good model.

GrannyGravy13

growstuff there are many excellent degree courses out there, unfortunately there are plenty of not so good ones.

Can you name them?

GrannyGravy13

WhitewaveMk2 I have a problem with Universities charging young people for a degree course which has little or no chance of helping them into employment.

Tony Blair’s idea of at least 50% of youngsters going to Uni was unrealistic in my opinion, just a way of getting them off of the dole to make his unemployment statistics look better.

Just like raising the school leaving age to 18 and compelling young people to do sham apprenticeships. It keeps 16-18 year olds (and many 18-24 year olds) out of the unemployment stats.

growstuff there are many excellent degree courses out there, unfortunately there are plenty of not so good ones.

1Whitewavemark2, I accept there is much still to be said for obtaining University degrees that will bring good well paid career employment on completion.

However, if the necessary qualifications can be obtained to secure such employment in any industry without gaining all the debt that is so associated with university placements these days, then that is perhaps a better way to proceed?

I’m of the opinion that education is never wasted, whatever the course.

Unemployment up until recently has been minuscule so not sure your argument holds water.

Where I do agree is that some courses are not of the best standard, but I think it is up to teachers and parents to point this out and young people given as much information as possible, if these courses get no takers they will disappear.

Whitewavemark2

When we were undergrads there wasn’t the choice there is now in any case.

What was your degree gg13? I bet it was just a big standard one like history or English. Nothing wrong with that, but a lot of degrees these days fit with future employment.

My GS is doing an electrical engineering degree which will ensure he is eminently employable in his chosen field.
Nursing degree is another, etc

Indded! AFAIK some kind of vocational education is a compulsory element of of even "academic" degrees such as history. I know my daughter, who did a degree in history and economics, had to do a vocational application module. It was also emphasised that many of the skills needed for history and economics are generic and can be used in non-specialist fields.

WhitewaveMk2 I couldn’t afford to go to University, I went straight out to work, left school on the Friday and into work on Monday.

WhitewaveMk2 I have a problem with Universities charging young people for a degree course which has little or no chance of helping them into employment.

Tony Blair’s idea of at least 50% of youngsters going to Uni was unrealistic in my opinion, just a way of getting them off of the dole to make his unemployment statistics look better.

Let’s be honest here those who did not vote Conservative will find fault with everything that this Chancellor announces as someone who has never voted Conservative, I have to say that of all the current govt, Sunak is the only one that is capable of doing the job he is supposed to do. He may not get it right all the time, but at least he doesn't bluster, fluster and downright lie like Johnson. Holding different political beliefs does not mean that I hate everything the Tories do, or conversely, like everything Labour proposes. This £10 scheme is not to subsidise lunch for the well off, it is to keep small business afloat and a slot of people in jobs, hopefully. I just wish that the chancellor had been in charge of awarding contracts to PPE manufacturers, ferry companies etc., unlike the fools and idiots who were given the job.

When we were undergrads there wasn’t the choice there is now in any case.

What was your degree gg13? I bet it was just a big standard one like history or English. Nothing wrong with that, but a lot of degrees these days fit with future employment.

My GS is doing an electrical engineering degree which will ensure he is eminently employable in his chosen field.
Nursing degree is another, etc

We shall be using this scheme to support our two local pub restaurants, and one of them has just announced on our FB hub that they have signed up to the scheme. It is very important to put our own fears aside and support local business else we may wake up from our covid19 'coma' one day and find that there is nothing there. I am satisfied that the local place has put in place all the measures necessary, and we will likely use the 50% 'saved' to buy another bottle of wine with dinner! I appreciate that some are frightened, but there is strong evidence that fear of covid19 can be more harmful than the disease itself in terms of mental health. I haven't been anywhere other than food shopping, and that has only been the last 4 weeks, prior to that we had a family member to do it for us, and I shall not be rushing to the shops as I am not a recreational shopper anyway. But, going out to eat is one of the joys of life in my opinion, and now that I am able to do so I shall be booking a table.

GrannyGravy13

Grandad much better than a degree in David Beckham Studies or any other Mickey Mouse course.

I always feel very uncomfortable rubbishing young people’s attainments.

Grandad much better than a degree in David Beckham Studies or any other Mickey Mouse course.

Riverwalk

Am I losing the plot here?

There are no vouchers! From what I understood from his statement, pubs & restaurants sign up to the App and claim back the £10.

No, you're not losing the plot. I know "vouchers" can't be given to foodbanks, but I wish the value of the discount could be transferred to the more needy.

growstuff

Grandad1943

In regard to your post @10:11 today, those without the disposable income to spend extra may often be those in low paid jobs in the hospitality industry.

Therefore those with the ability to spend extra, by going out and spending in pubs, restaurants and hotels may well preserve the jobs of those in that low paid work. For it will is the case that many businesses in that industry are facing financial failure at present.

When the above takes place those low paid workers face even worse hardship by way of unemployment and living on Universal Credit Benifits.

The above is the real truth of the situation.

It's not the whole truth by any means!

There are approximately 3 million self-employed people who have received absolutely nothing from the £190 billion, but will end up paying taxes to pay for those who can afford to eat out.

If the Chancellor really wanted to help the low paid working in the hospitality industry, he could have targeted financial support more effectively.

It's a "back of a fag packet" measure to make a good headline. It's a bit like offering a child a packet of sweets or a packet of seeds. Most children would take the sweets, but we're supposed to be adults and the Chancellor is supposed to be responsible for the whole population.

Absolutely!

It is rubbish economics

Let’s be honest here those who did not vote Conservative will find fault with everything that this Chancellor announces.

Conservatives give 50 billion
Labour demand 51 billion
Lib/Dems who knows do they still exist?

Well here is an upbeat post. ?

We have just returned from a walk along the Clevedon seafront here in North Somerset. There were very many visiting that seafront and the takeaways seemed to be doing very brisk business with well-formed queues all socially distanced.

However, being somewhat overcast it was obvious that many had decided to go into the many pubs, cafes and restaurants along there who were "absolutely heaving".

That situation seems to have come about without the Chancellors incentive offers even starting.

In regards to jobs and education, one of my son inlaws was due to take his GCSEs in May this year. Based on the results he was hoping to go on to sixth form A levels and then perhaps University.

However, those GCSE exams were cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation and he has had little contact with his school since lockdown.

However, with the above taking place, he decided to abandon the plans to remain at school and applied to Weston College for a place on a vehicle technician course. They have now accepted him for that course unconditionally and to add to that he has now been accepted by one of the large heavy commercial vehicle service centres in Avonmouth for an apprenticeship should he pass one or two conditions they have laid out. However, he thinks that will be no problem.

He and all our family are "over the moon" for him and what he has already achieved.

In terms of that connecting to this thread, he is saying that several of his school mates have also now decided to try to obtain college courses linked to apprenticeships. Therefore perhaps this crisis will bring a change of outlook in young people which I feel would not be a wrong thing in the Britain of today.

Lots of GN members donate to food banks and do voluntary work for various causes.

Cannot see the relevance regarding a discount up to the value of £10 per person on a meal out as opposed to the above?

I always find that assertions of virtual signalling amusing ?

Am I losing the plot here?

There are no vouchers! From what I understood from his statement, pubs & restaurants sign up to the App and claim back the £10.

Grandad1943

In regard to your post @10:11 today, those without the disposable income to spend extra may often be those in low paid jobs in the hospitality industry.

Therefore those with the ability to spend extra, by going out and spending in pubs, restaurants and hotels may well preserve the jobs of those in that low paid work. For it will is the case that many businesses in that industry are facing financial failure at present.

When the above takes place those low paid workers face even worse hardship by way of unemployment and living on Universal Credit Benifits.

The above is the real truth of the situation.

It's not the whole truth by any means!

There are approximately 3 million self-employed people who have received absolutely nothing from the £190 billion, but will end up paying taxes to pay for those who can afford to eat out.

If the Chancellor really wanted to help the low paid working in the hospitality industry, he could have targeted financial support more effectively.

It's a "back of a fag packet" measure to make a good headline. It's a bit like offering a child a packet of sweets or a packet of seeds. Most children would take the sweets, but we're supposed to be adults and the Chancellor is supposed to be responsible for the whole population.

25Avalon

I’m not complaining as I probably won’t eat out in August anyway with DH still isolating and perforce me too. I have been buying some lovely frozen ready cook meals from Cook. Their prawn linguine is lovely and like their chicken and mushroom lasagne and venison lasagne doesn’t need anything else except a bottle of vino! Their coq au vin is pretty good too but you will need veg to go with it. They have very good reports and it’s about £8 for 2 portions. They also do single portions. It’s free delivery over £30 and I have 4 lovely meals on their way this a Friday. Don’t need to eat out. Anyone want my vouchers?

I expect the local foodbank would be grateful for them.

I did make a point of saying ‘or lasses’growstuff’ !

Interestingly the heating engineer who serviced our boiler last Autumn was a woman.

She said she loved her job.